Making a Unique Path
by Devlac
Summary: Prologue starts around the time when Kyuubi attacked Konoha. Story really starts out with the dead time when Jiraya and Naruto were out of Konoha. May be flashbacks, may not be. Changes in canon up until this. Grey/DarkNaruto. Undecided pairings.
1. Prologue: The Prelude

**Making a Unique Path**

"He's going to become a hero, I promise you" Namikaze Minato's last words to his beloved and no longer pregnant wife. He had a small boy, already resembling himself, carried tightly in his arms. Standing in the door, head tilted back so that she barely saw how his lips were trembling as he spoke. His always lively blond hair was dull and flat. The bags under his eyes showed his pain throughout the last 24 hours.

"I promise you" he repeated himself before taking a long step out of the room. Kushina could hear the hurried steps towards the stairs. A tapping sound that carefully lulled her into a never ending sleep.

Boy in arm, Minato made his way towards the other side of the village. He knew that he was the only shinobi able to stand up to such a terrifying beast, yet he didn't speed up. He wanted out of all his heart to spend more time with his newborn son.

Time went by far too quickly. Naruto slept so carefully in his arms that he couldn't wake him up. Not that he would wake if he tried anyways

An old man walked up to him from behind, gently put his hand at Minato's shoulder and said with the utmost carefulness: "We will never blame you if you do not do this. After all how can someone expect another person to sacrifice his life and put his own son's life in danger by sealing a beast in him?" Minato felt that the words were comforting and he knew that Sarutobi truly meant them. This was entirely to be his own choice.

"What's that?" Minato put on a prankster's face "If I'm not gonna do it, then who is?" Then he handed over the newborn child to the old Hokage and set off towards the nine tailed bijou.

He saw fallen shinobi all over the place. _For these men_

Then he lifted his eyes up to the crushed village. _For all of this village and its citizens_

Then he stopped, looked back towards the old man carrying the child. _But most of all for you, Naruto. This will be my ultimate sacrifice._

With these last thoughts he unregretful left for his last stand.

The rest of the story about Yondaime and Kyuubi is known to all and I myself believe it was just the prelude to what is to come.

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Naruto came into the room and looked first at the piece of paper in Jiraya's hand and then at his face. "Ero-sennin, what's that?" He pointed at the note.

Jiraya had a tear in his eye, he was so close to revealing the story to his godson. At last his intelligent side got through to him. He lit a match and set the note on fire. "Just some bad research for the new book" Naruto looked clearly disappointed and almost irritated. "Tch, I should have known…" Then he lifted his hands up to the back of his head, turned around and with a grunt spat out the words: "Good night" before he left towards his own bed.

Little did Jiraya know how big of a change he just had made by not telling the blonde haired ninja about his past at this moment.

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**A.N: I'm thinking of making this a story where all the Team 7 members at some point turns away from Konoha. As I've hinted in this"prologue" Naruto is tired from all the crap he's been through and he'll leave Konoha forever while on a trip with Jiraya. I'm thinking; should I show what's happened up until now or just continue from this point on a throw in a bit of flashbacks. Well since this is my first try I'm not expecting much of myself, but if I get like one or two that actually supports me I'll actually make more of an exciting story out of this. And yes at some point there will be pairings.**


	2. Chapter 1: The First Step

Naruto had kept it to himself, but since the fight with Haku and Zabuza, Naruto had been having regular conversations with Kyuubi. Somehow it seems that the outburst he showed in the Land of Waves unlocked a way of speaking to the Nine-Tailed whenever he felt like it. Still he wouldn't have known about it if the Kyuubi hadn't "contacted" him first. At first Naruto only tried to overlook it and shush it down, but the clever fox had often tricked him into speaking anyways.

Tonight was one of the nights when the Kyuubi spoke to him again. It had become such a regular thing by now that Naruto, though he would never admit it, almost respected it.

**So, boy, have you thought of my words?**

"What am I still lying around for, really?"

A thump noise was heard from the room in which Jiraya should be sleeping. Clearly he wasn't sleeping yet.

**That's why. Are you sure you've got it all planned out?**

"Yeah, I've got everything sealed up in storage scrolls that are hidden with henge as a branch of a tree. Unless anyone goes around checking every tree in that forest it should still be there."

**Good, but are you mentally prepared? I can feel hesitation coming from you**

"….If you know that much you should also know that I've waited for this chance throughout the last year. The only thing keeping me back was that Ero-Sennin, always watching me. Also I was pretty sure he had something to tell me, but I've already guessed most of it now."

**Yes, that old fool is still persistent about saying nothing about your past. Holding you back by making you walk around pointlessly. As soon as you get out of here I will show what could have been done in all that wasted time.**

"I'm sure you will and that's why I'm leaving. Just don't believe that you will be set free at first occasion."

With a half-angry growl Kyuubi went silent.

The night embraced Naruto with a beautiful stream of moonlight through his window. _Ero-sennin should be sleeping by now._

Naruto got out of the room just to meet Jiraya's angry face.

"This isn't a time for young growing ninjas to stay up! Get back to bed!"

"**Doryuu Taiga (Earth Flow River)"** The ground under Jiraya's feet started to sink and become mud, the surprised Sannin just barely got away by jumping up into the air.

Naruto scowled at Jiraya "A convenient technique, right? Wonder why you never thought me things like this… Well, let me show you a jutsu more familiar to you!"

While speaking he had formed the seal for Kage Bunshin. In mid-air behind Jiraya appeared two clones, forming the twirling blue ball that had been passed from student to teacher and back to another student. Jiraya was not prepared for any of this, but his exceptional skills as a ninja didn't fail him. With a low level Fuuton technique he had spun himself around in mid-air and been able to grab the clone. Just as Jiraya's feet touched ground again he swung the clone back at the first Naruto. The seemingly original just smiled as it went up in smoke.

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**I said you'd need that technique didn't I?**

Naruto just listened to the Kyuubi's ranting about the only technique he had ever showed Naruto. From this day on it would become much more need for learning more like it. Seeing as he now could call himself a real missing nin.

The forest gave out a cold breeze and the further in Naruto got the darker and more overgrowing the forest became. Here and there rays of moonlight shone through; all in all it balanced out as an okay escape route.

The ninja made his way towards the meeting place. Surely the trip would take all night long so he decided not to think that much of it. This because he knew that he'd get too agitated to keep a reasonable speed towards the target.

Naruto gasped as he passed the same tree for the fourth time. The thing that shocked him the most was that he'd actually thought he was going nowhere. He had even made a mark to satisfy his paranoia and when that mark showed up there was no doubt.

_Genjutsu!_

A voice came from literarily everywhere: "Finally you notice. Sure took some time"

Naruto grabbed a kunai "Who's there?!"

A hand grabbed Naruto's shoulder. In reaction the blonde twirled around trying to slash up whoever it was. Not to his surprise, but more to his irritation there was nobody there.

"Ahahaha, it seems you are really lost inside my little world" the voice taunted at Naruto.

_If only that pervy sage had taught me anything useful for situations like this._ Naruto bit his lip half in anger, half in a reaction to thinking of a way out.

**A.N: Well I decided to try out making a short chappie at the same time. Tell me what you think of it. I can't really think of something to continue this with at the moment. I'm sure something'll pop up in my head. Well who do you think Naruto is going meet in the meeting place and where will it be. Try to guess who the assailant is (I think I know whom I'll use :P) and so on.**

**Well I'm done writing for today. Maybe reading some will get the wheels in my brain to turn again. I don't mind recommendations for things to read either.**


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